Benefits of a Global Distribution Network

Benefits of a Global Distribution Network

One problem web apps face is delivery of content, whether that be the CSS and Javascript files that determine how the app is displayed and functions on the client machine or the media content that goes on it; images and video. This is not an issue if the app is hosted in the same geographic area to where it’s being viewed but can lead to unacceptably long loading times across continents which is why every major web-app makes use of them.

Enter CDNs (Content Distribution Networks). These are data centres around the world that mimic the content stored on the server and use your location to determine the closest data centres to the user for delivering the best(and fastest) user experience possible. CDNs have many other benefits than lowering load times including mitigating distributed denial of service(DDoS) attacks, an automatic https certificate, built in telemetry of cached content, reduced bandwidth usage, and support for handling sudden traffic spikes.

As an example of this in action, Nebula’s newest web app, InstantBSI, aims to make performing borescope inspections on airplane engines easier than ever before. Of course, these inspections could take place anywhere in the world. As it is expected to be accessed anywhere, it needed to serve content everywhere. After considering all the factors involved (speed, reliability, cost) we chose Microsoft’s Azure CDN. With an average response time of 41 milliseconds, an uptime of 99.25%, and integration with our existing tech stack, it was the obvious choice for us.